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Constitution

Article I

Name

The name of this organization shall be the Penn State Lehigh Valley Alumni Society (Society).

Article II

Purpose

The Society is to serve at the will of the Dean and CEO to support the needs of the students, alumni, and activities of the Lehigh Valley campus. The society seeks to nurture and foster strong relationships with all Penn State alumni living and working in the Lehigh Valley, and provides additional avenues for identification, contact, and representation of alumni within the Penn State Alumni Association and the Society, and stimulates the continued interest of all graduates and former students of the Lehigh Valley campus. The Society also may act as an informal advisory board to the Dean and CEO of the College, as well as a strong force in helping to meet needs of the campus, the students and those of the Lehigh Valley campus in general.

Article III

Membership

Dues as set and paid to the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA) shall provide a basis of eligibility for membership in the Penn State Lehigh Valley Alumni Society. The Society may consist of all alumni of Penn State University, including any campus or college within the University who is an active member of the PSAA.

Faculty members, parents of students or alumni, students, and other loyal friends may be members upon payment of the Alumni Association’s associate member dues.

The Lehigh Valley Campus Student Government Association (SGA) President or a representative thereof, the Lion Ambassadors, or a representative thereof, or a current student representative of the Penn State Lehigh Valley campus will serve as Ex-officio Directors of the Society.

Article IV

Finance

The Penn State Alumni Association will provide an annual financial allocation for Society operation.

The annual financial allocation shall be administered by the Office of Alumni Relations. The Alumni Relations Office or its designee shall be responsible for depositing and accounting for all donations or other incidental monies that result from meetings or other events conducted by the Society. The Office of Alumni Relations shall be the administrator of the University account for the Society.

Officers of the Society and members of the Executive Board may be reimbursed for expenses incurred while on Society related business with previous approval. Such reimbursements shall conform to existing University guidelines.

Article V

Board of Directors

All affairs of the Society shall be conducted by a Board of Directors (Board) consisting of At-large Directors and Ex-officio Directors as set forth in the by-laws.

The Board will elect the Society officers as set forth in the by-laws.

All actions of the Board shall be decided by majority vote. A majority vote is defined as a majority of those present at any regular or duly called meeting of the Society Board of Directors.

Article VI

Elections and Removal of Board of Directors

The members of the Board shall be elected for a term of two (2) years.

All Board members and At-large Directors shall be nominated by a nominating committee, and shall be elected by the Board of Directors. Exceptions may be held for special elections held to replace vacant directors’ positions between regular elections.

No At-large Directors of the Board may be elected for more than two consecutive terms.

In the event a director is absent for three (3) consecutive board meetings, or with failure to maintain membership in the PSAA, the Board will review the director’s status according to procedures as set forth in the by-laws.

Elected terms will begin July 1 and end June 30. Nomination and election procedures shall be completed by April 30.

Article VII

Officers

The Society officers shall consist of the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary.

Terms of all officers shall be two (2) years, commencing on the first of July following the time of election. The Board of Directors shall elect the Society’s officers pursuant to Article V.

Officers shall be afforded the opportunity to serve unlimited consecutive terms provided they are selected by a majority vote during the voting process at the end of each term.

When an office becomes vacant, or there is a vacancy on the Executive Board, the Nominating Committee shall notify all members of the vacancy and the appointee or appointees in consideration. All members shall have fifteen (15) days to vote if they choose and the vacancy will be filled by strict majority of votes received. Such interim appointment shall not count toward the two (2) term limit, if applicable.

Employees of the Berks and Lehigh Valley campuses shall not serve as elected officers of the Society.

A representative of the Office of Alumni Relations will serve as the liaison between the Offices of Development and University Relations and will be responsible for the preparation of meeting materials, mailings, and reports.

Article VIII

Duties of the Officers

Chair

The Chair shall preside at all meetings and shall be responsible for the general supervision of all work on the Society.

All committee chairs shall be appointed by the Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.

The Chair may serve on all committees as an ex officio member.

The Chair or designee shall serve as the Society’s delegate to the Penn State University’s Alumni Council.

Vice Chair

The Vice Chair shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the Chair. The Vice Chair also shall assume the duties of the President in the event of incapacity or the absence of the Chair. The office of Vice Chair shall also serve as the Treasurer with the capacity to compile and report on financial aspects of the group.

Secretary

The Secretary shall record and read the minutes of all meetings and will work with the Office of Alumni Relations to assure that all correspondence is handled in a timely manner.

Article IX

Meetings

At least one regular meeting of the Society shall be held each year to be known as the annual meeting. The annual meeting shall be held on a date and at the place fixed by the Executive Board, historically during the June meeting.

Special meetings of the Society shall be called at the direction of the Chair. Written notices of the annual meeting and of the special meetings shall be sent out by the Secretary at least two (2) weeks in advance of the meeting.

The Executive Board shall meet at the call of the Chair or at the request of a majority of the members of the Executive Board.

Committees shall meet on the call of the committee chair or at the request of the Society Chair.

The Chair will create a meeting schedule at six (6) month intervals, subject to modification, with proper notification to all members.

Article X

Amendments

The constitution and by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the society members present at the annual meeting provided that:

The amendments shall have been placed before the Board of Directors at least one month prior to the meeting at which such amendment is acted upon.

The amendment or amendments adopted shall, previous to their adoption, have been acted upon favorably by a majority of the Board at a regular or special meeting of the Board.

The constitution and by-laws or the amendments thereof must not conflict with the Constitution of the Penn State Alumni Association or the rules and regulations for constituent societies as established by the Executive Board of the Penn State Alumni Council and must be approved by the Executive Officer of the College.

By-laws may be adopted or amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the Board of Directors present at a regular or special meeting.

By-Laws

Article I

Attendance and Resignation

It is the responsibility of each Board member to attend all regular meetings of the Board. In the event that a Board member misses three consecutive meetings, the Chair will review the member’s status and recommend action to the Board. The Office of Alumni Relations shall notify the member in writing of the Board’s decision.

Failure to comply with the attendance requirements or failure to act in the best interest of the Society shall be grounds for dismissal.

Article II

At-large Directors

At-large Directors shall consist of a minimum of eleven and a maximum of twenty-five members.

At-large Directors shall consist of the president or a representative of each Chapter, Affiliate Program Group, Affiliate Interest Group.

Article III

Ex-officio Directors

Ex-officio Directors shall have all the privileges of membership except the right to vote.

Ex-officio Directors may include, but not be limited to:

The College Executive Officer

The College Director of Development and University Relations

The College Assistant Director of Alumni Relations

The Student Government Association President or representative from the Lehigh Valley campus

The Lion Ambassador President or representative from the Lehigh Valley campus

The Society’s immediate past chair

Any faculty/staff member of the Penn State Lehigh Valley

Article IV

Committees

Standing committees of the Board shall consist of but not be limited to: recruiting & advertising, events and programming, strategic planning, alumni awards and recognition, nominating, and mentoring.

Article V

Meetings

Written notice of all meetings held by the Board or committees thereof shall be given by the Secretary and Office of Alumni Relations at least two (2) weeks prior to such meetings.

Approved by the members of the College Alumni Interim Board: November 3, 2004